Grain Direction

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GRAIN DIRECTION

Machine-made paper, cardstock and matboard have a grain direction. This simply means that the fibers from which the paper is made lie primarily in one direction. Why is this important? Because paper folded against the grain - across the direction of the fibers - is weaker, tends to crack and will not lie as flat. The main folds on book and papercraft projects will look better and last longer if they are parallel to the grain.

Grain short means the grain is running parallel to the short dimension of the paper, and grain long indicates that the grain is running parallel to the long dimension. The label on a ream of 8.5 x 11 inch paper or cardstock usually indicates grain direction. If the 11 is underlined, all the sheets are grain long. If the 8.5 is underlined, the sheets are grain short.

The following photos show two simple and foolproof ways to determine grain direction - the flex test and the spray test:




Bend an 8.5 x 11 inch cardstock sheet across the width. 'Bounce' the paper up and down along the bend, and sense its resistance to being folded.




Now bend the sheet in half across the length and again 'bounce' the cardstock up and down. Cardstock always bends with less resistance when folded parallel to the grain. The red cardstock above offers less resistance when folded along the length, and is grain long.




A simple and dramatic way to determine grain direction is to lightly mist a sheet of cardstock with water. The cardstock will instantly start to curl around the direction of the grain. Imagine grain direction as a tree trunk standing upright inside the curled paper. The yellow sheet in this photo is grain short and the red sheet is grain long.
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